Scoping review of the climate change and sexual and reproductive health nexus in Asia

 

Asian countries are largely unprepared to address the increasing health impacts of the climate crisis, especially in the most impoverished regions. While the continent has invested in preparedness and response efforts related to epidemics/pandemic threats, climate change poses additional risks. Addressing such risks through health sector responses can at times move focus away from sexual and reproductive health (SRH) efforts, particularly in countries experiencing climate change at the intersection of conflict, under-resourced health systems and weak state capacity. The confluence of conflict and fragility in Asia magnifies the toll on human insecurity, including diminished SRH.  

The aim of this project is to better understand the existing evidence concerning the connections between climate change and SRH (including mental health issues). The research will also identify priority areas for future research and the implications for policy and practice relating to each priority area.  

The project team will conduct a scoping review to synthesize associations between climate change hazards and SRH (including mental health) in Asia and develop a framework that reflects the research and adapts it to the region. This framework seeks to enable policymakers and researchers to identify context-specific drivers that create vulnerability and opportunities for action, while also assessing the level and kinds of risks that climate change creates for advancing SRH. Outputs include one or more briefs summarizing the project findings and recommendations for future research and research funders as well as one or more open access academic publication(s), reporting on the methods and findings of the evidence syntheses and the applied frameworks on the linkages between climate change and SRH in the Asian context.